In pre-speech interview, Oprah directly addressed presidential run: 'I don't have the DNA for it

Entertainment mogul Oprah Winfrey dashed progressive hopes of an Oprah 2020 presidential run during an InStyle magazine interview that was published on Thursday. In the interview, Winfrey claimed she doesn't have "the DNA" for the highest office in the land.

What did she say?

In the interview — reportedly conducted several weeks prior to her early January Golden Globes speech, which sparked viral calls for a Winfrey run — Winfrey explained that she's simply not interested in running for president.

"I’ve always felt very secure and confident with myself in knowing what I could do and what I could not," she said. "And so it’s not something that interests me. I don’t have the DNA for it."

Elsewhere in the interview, Winfrey was asked what comes to mind when she hears "Oprah 2020."

"I actually saw a mug the other day," she explained. "I thought it was a cute mug. All you need is a mug and some campaign literature and a T-shirt."

"Gayle [King] — who knows me as well as I know myself practically — has been calling me regularly and texting me things, like a woman in the airport saying, 'When’s Oprah going to run?' So Gayle sends me these things, and then she’ll go, 'I know, I know, I know! It wouldn’t be good for you — it would be good for everyone else," Winfrey added and doubled down on her previous comments.

"I met with someone the other day who said that they would help me with a campaign," she admitted. "That’s not for me."

What's the history?

After Winfrey's Golden Globes speech, several people purporting to be Winfrey's close friends told CNN that Winfrey was "actively thinking" about a 2020 presidential bid.

Stedman Graham, the billionaire mogul's longtime partner, also told the Los Angeles Times backstage at the awards show that Winfrey would "absolutely" run for president, but noted that it would be "up to the people."

But Winfrey has said multiple times that she doesn't plan on running for president.

Anything else?

A January Rasmussen poll tested a hypothetical 2020 matchup between Winfrey and President Donald Trump.

Findings of the poll reported that Winfrey would win the hypothetical matchup by 10 points if the election were held that day.